Trinity Lutheran Church is the result of a merger between two predecessor congregations, St. Matthew Lutheran Church and Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, both of McClure, PA. While the merger of Christ and St. Matthew’s Lutheran churches officially occurred in 1945, our congregational history goes back to 1876 and, as some members like to point out, beyond that to the founding of nearby St. John’s Ridge Lutheran Church.
In 1876, Lutherans who were members of St. John’s Ridge Lutheran Church, about four miles north of McClure, wanted to establish a Lutheran church in the town of McClure. Permission was given for a “new” congregation to begin meeting in the Middleswarth schoolhouse, two miles east of town. Reverend D. M. Stetler preached the first sermon there on December 17, 1876, and the church was formally organized as St. Matthew Lutheran Church with a membership of 26, on January 29, 1877.
Worship services were held in the Middleswarth schoolhouse until 1888, when services were moved to the First Evangelical United Brethren Church in McClure. In April of that same year, the members decided to build a church for the St. Matthew’s Lutheran congregation. The cornerstone of St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was laid in 1889, and the church was dedicated March 23, 1890, free of debt. In 1910, the church building was remodeled, and the chancel moved from the north end to the south end of the building. In 1916, a parsonage for St. Matthew’s was built on West Specht St. In 1927, the church was again remodeled, an addition added, and a Moller pipe organ was installed. The organ was presented to the church by the Ladies Aid Society. In 1941, classrooms were built in the basement and restrooms were added.
While St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church developed in the late 1880s, members of St. Paul’s Ridge Church and Samuel’s Church held their first meeting on July 13, 1886, to discuss forming another Lutheran church in McClure. From this meeting, Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church was formally organized on April 10, 1887, under the guidance of Reverend J.M. Stover. The cornerstone of the new church building was laid on June 12, 1887. The church was completed December 4, 1887 at a cost of $2,000, which was paid-in-full on the day of dedication. (The cost included organ, bell, hymn books, and church furniture.) In 1912, a house next to Christ’s Lutheran was purchased for use as a parsonage. It is interesting to note that Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church and St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church were built within 50 yards of each other.
In 1918, various organizations of Lutheran churches decided to form a national denomination called the United Lutheran Church in America. This unification put both Christ’s and St. Matthew’s in the same national Lutheran denomination but in different synods. Discussion began between the councils of both churches to consider establishing one Lutheran church in McClure. After 26 years of discussion, in September 1944, the congregations of St. Matthew Lutheran Church and Christ Lutheran Church voted to merge and form Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. The merger took effect on January 1, 1945; the decision was then made to use St. Matthew’s church building and the Christ Lutheran parsonage.
After merging, the Christ Lutheran church building became a Parish House for a variety of church activities for almost 10 years. In 1954, the building was sold and remodeled to become the West Snyder (medical) Clinic. The Clinic was later sold to Lewistown Hospital, who continued the medical clinic until early 2009 when it was closed. Around the same time that the Christ Church building was sold, Trinity Lutheran Church was remodeled and a new addition was built. Groundbreaking services were held on July 25, 1954, and a dedication service on March 6, 1955. In 1958, property across the street from the church was acquired and converted for use as a parking lot.
On January 1, 1961, after 16 years of being part of the McClure Pastoral Charge, which included St. John’s Ridge, Samuel’s, and Trinity churches, Trinity Lutheran became a single-charge church. Throughout the 1970s to the present, renovations and improvements were made to the present Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, including acquiring the “old” McClure Firehall as a Parish Hall, adding a new front entrance, refurbishing the Moller organ, improving the sound system, updating handicapped accessibility, installing a new drainage system for the basement, and purchasing a generator for power outages.
In 1988, Trinity became a denomination of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. For over 125 years, the Lutheran church has been active in the McClure community. Members of the congregation of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church continue to participate in both church and community activities.